By Mike Whitaker
DETROIT – If you noticed a giant piano on the ice at center ice at Little Caesars Arena, it was the one that collectively fell off the backs of the Detroit Red Wings players.
They broke their six-game winless skid in a major way last night, beating the Buffalo Sabres both on the scoreboard and physically to the tune of a 7-3 final.
Patrick Kane looked like his old self that routinely terrorized the Red Wings while with the Chicago Blackhawks, scoring two goals while adding three assists to tie a career-high five points in one game.
“That’s called leadership and experience,” head coach Todd McLellan said of Kane’s performance. “When you have the toolset he has, and you bring it on a night where the team is pretty desperate and he delivers, what else can I say?”
“Sometimes you have those nights where you’re getting chances, creating chances, and the puck goes in,” Kane said. “Marco (Kasper) and Alex (DeBrincat) both had great nights, not only on the scoresheet but just hunting the puck and getting pucks to the net and playing the right way. That’s the way we need to do it.”
Meanwhile, Kasper scored twice for Detroit, who also got goals from Vladimir Tarasenko, Moritz Seider and DeBrincat.
Kasper, who is playing in his rookie season in the NHL, continues to impress Detroit’s coaching staff after they placed him on a line with Kane and DeBrincat.
“It’s real fun to play with Kaner and Cat,” Kasper said. “I’m just going out there and absorbing what they’re doing and just learning every day. I’m trying to play my game but also push the pace to open room for Cat and Kaner, go to the net, because good things happen when you go there.”
Last night’s game also featured the return of goaltender Petr Mrazek to the Detroit crease; the last time he played for the Red Wings was February 18, 2018.
He made 23 saves, including several acrobatic stops as the Sabres were trying to force their way back into the contest.
The Red Wings will now travel to Raleigh for a game against the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night; puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 PM EST at Lenovo Center.
